Celebrating World Goth Day

The Goth Girls are at Shades of Gray for the 2022 World Goth Day.

Signature Select's Buttery Caramel

I made another trip to the grocery store, heard the call of the coffee aisle, and returned with an impulse buy. I brewed some up, I drank it, and now I'm reviewing it.

SIGNATURE SELECT: BUTTERY CARAMEL

Signature Select is the house-brand for Albertson's and Safeway grocery stores. I've previously reviewed two of their other offerings, Double Dutch Chocolate and Sun-Kissed Blonde (in the second half of the linked post), and I found them tasty and worthy of recommending to all of you. Let's see if Signature Select will have a hat-trick!

The Signature Select Buttery Caramel blend consists of Arabica light roast. The packaging states that should taste rich, sweet, and creamy, which is what I would expect from a light roast that's caramel flavored.

When I opened the bag of pre-ground coffee, the scent of caramel wafted up from it, strongly and delightfully. That aroma was also faintly present around the coffee maker as it brewed, and when I poured it into the mug, the mix of caramel and coffee made me feel certain I was in for a treat.

That is why I was so surprised when this turned out to be one of the bitterest light roast coffees I've ever tasted. Initially, the flavor is what I expected when I drank it hot and black--coffee with a caramel flavor added--but it wasn't sweet nor creamy. It had an edge from the outset... and that got worse when a bitter aftertaste hit. Things got a little better when I tried the coffee with the Unsweetened Almond Milk and sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, as the caramel flavor was drawn out with both additions. The bitter aftertaste, though, hit just as strong.

I thought perhaps I'd somehow screwed up when brewing the pot. I dumped the rest, cleaned the pot and coffee maker, and brewed a fresh batch. But the result was the same. The bottom line is that this is just not a coffee flavor that I like when it's hot. 

Don't drink Signature Select Buttery Caramel hot,
or you'll find yourself asking, "What is this sh*t?"

The good news is that the bitter aftertaste fades as the the Buttery Caramel blend cools. At room temperature, it's quite tasty whether consumed with Unsweetened Almond Milk or the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer added. It's also quite good black with a packet of Stevia. There is no aftertaste, and the coffee and caramel flavors mingle nicely and almost with the mildness I expect from a light roast.

Where this blend really excels is when it's iced. The caramel flavor is even stronger and the coffee flavor milder. It's delicious whether mixed with Unsweetened Almond Milk or the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. It's even better with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (which REALLY mixes nicely with the caramel and coffee flavors); in fact, the Buttery Caramel blend iced with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk added was my favorite of the variations I tried.

In the final analysis, the Signature Select Buttery Caramel blend is an inexpensive option if you want a tasty iced coffee... but you need to avoid drinking it hot. I don't know exactly what causes the horrid aftertaste, but it's one that I experienced so you didn't have to. Brew this coffee, let it cool, pour it in a jug or bottle you can seal, stick it in the fridge for a while... then enjoy it over ice cubes. Do it any other way, and you're going to regret it.

It's a Fantastic Friday...

... and we dedicate it to honoring the work of George Perez, one of the most fabulous artists to ever draw portraits of the First Family of Comics!

 

Can you name the FF's friends behind them in this picture?

Can you name the FF's foes and frenemies behind them?

The Secret Life of Brigitte Bardot

From early 1964 until the end of 1965, Brigitte Bardot adopted the role of Captain America and prevented the re-emergence of the ancient secret society, Hydra. Here's a rare photo of Bardot in action as Captain America with her sidekick, Becky.

Men, Women, and In-Between in the Workplace

Mabel's Stratagem (1912)
Starring: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, and Alice Davenport
Director: Mack Sennett
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A secretary (Normand) disguises herself as a man so she can get her job back after her boss's jealous wife (Davenport) insists he fire all female staffers and replace them with males.

"Mabel's Stratagem" is a straight-forward and silly comedy about sex, gender, and sexual harassment in the workplace.  The film is 110 years old, but pretty much all of the situational and gender-based humor works almost as well today, what with all the talk about how there's no difference between men and women, how the society is rotten with power imbalance with the hypocritical rich always abusing the workers, and so on.

While the acting styles are outdated, the film is so fast-moving that viewers hardly have time to notice the excessive pantomiming and emoting (except on the part of Fred Mace who really goes above and beyond). In fact, the only serious complaint I can mount is that maybe the film is a little too fast-moving; the story would be more effective if a little more time could have been spent developing the characters. 

"Mabel's Stratagem" is only five minutes, so I recommend you click below and check it out. I think you'll have fun. 

Remembering Yvonne Craig...

 ... on what would have been her 85th birthday!

Musical Monday with will.i.am

Bang Bang (2013)
Starring: will.i.am and Shelby "Cobra" Spalione
Director: Igor Kovalik
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

In 2012, a physicist threw 80 years worth of musical recordings into the Slaughter Valley Super-Collider and accelerated them to be speed of light. They emerged as a single, unified masterpiece that embodies the spirit of Shades of Gray. 

Click below to witness the Unifying Theme of Shades of Gray in moving pictures and music!

Bones Coffee's Sumatra Single Origin

I checked out another unflavored coffee, and it became the subject of this Sunday's review.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: SUMATRA SINGLE ORIGIN
Among Bones' offerings is a "World Tour Sample Pack" that features five different coffees from five different parts of the world. I already did a kinda-sorta review of the Bones Costa Rica Single Source blend (in the lower half of this linked post), but I will be covering all the World Tour varieties eventually. And here are my thoughts on the Sumatra Single Source blend.

As could perhaps be deduced from above, this review is based on a 4-oz. sample pack, as are most of my Bones Coffee reviews. Unsurprisingly, the package released a smell of coffee when opened, and a nice strong aroma filled the kitchen as the hot water percolated through the ground coffee.

Unlike most coffees I drink and review, this blend is a dark roast, and, based on what I read, that is the best approach to Sumatran-grown beans. In general, Sumatran coffees are said to have earthy undertones, along with hints of herbs and spices. Bones' sell-copy for their Sumatran blend stated it should have earthy and smoky qualities, and that there should be some dark chocolate flavor in the mix. (I also read that, like with most coffee growing regions, there is no one-flavor-fits-all... that there are many factors that go into shaping the taste in a particular coffee. So I suppose chocolate touches in place of herbs and spices could be possible?)

As dark roasts go, I found the Sumatra Single Origin to be quite pleasant-tasting. Even drinking it black, I found it to be far less bitter than almost any other dark roasts I've had. I credit the supposed chocolatey undertones as well as the somewhat smokey quality that was definitely present as I drank. This is a strong and bold coffee that I think most coffee lovers will enjoy.

As someone who likes his coffee on the sweeter and mellower side, I preferred the Sumatra Single Origin blend when I drank it with the sugar free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, because, well, it was sweet and creamy with the coffee flavor still standing strong. It kept more of an edge when I tried it with the Unsweetened Almond Milk, but a packet of Stevia pushed it more in the perfect direction. In a small deviation from my usual review protocol, I tried a cup of Sumatra with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk; the vanilla flavor and chocolate undertones seemed to enhance each other, and this was a very enjoyable drink. A touch more vanilla, and I suspect it might have been perfect.  All of the above remained true as the mixtures cooled to room temperature.

Over ice, I think the Sumatra Single Origin worked best black with a little Stevia added (which surprised me). It was also quite delicious with the Unsweetened Almond Milk. Interestingly, the coffee flavor seemed a bit washed out when I tried it with the sugar free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. Over all, though, I think this is a coffee that works best hot or at room temperature.

(That said, since I thought this blend might get tastier with a stronger touch of vanilla, I tried it in my half-assed version of a "White Russian", but using Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and vanilla flavored vodka... and it was very, VERY tasty!)

Despite having enjoyed, to a greater or lesser degree, every cup of the Sumatra Single Origin blend that drank, I will probably avoid Sumatran coffee in the future. Why? Because while I've often heard that coffee is supposed to give you gas, this is the first time my buzz has resulted in exhaust fumes.

So... if you're ever trapped with me and five other people in a lift and you are trying to figure out who dealt what you have smelled, ask what I've been drinking coffee-wise. If I've been drinking Sumatran coffee, you will have to look no further.

Ko-Ko the Clown goes dancing with spooks!

In observance of Friday the 13th, we bring you a haunting cartoon!

Ko-Ko Sees Spooks (aka "Ko-Ko's Haunted Hat") (1925, 1950)

Starring: Max Fleischer
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Ko-Ko and his pet dog enter a mysterious house where they alternately fight and party with ghosts.

As with most cartoons starring Ko-Ko the Clown, this is another fun mix of live-action footage and animation--although less than in others and the live action portions aren't central to the going-ons beyond Ko-Ko initially forming from several 13s doodled by Max the Cartoonist. (That opening sequence, plus the head-scratcher, completely random climax are almost entirely disconnected from anything that happens in the main body of the cartoon--except perhaps as a way to logically explain how Ko-Ko at one point is able to make a dozen or more copies of himself.)

The bulk of the cartoon takes place inside a haunted house where Ko-Ko ends up in a number of situations that you'd expect in a place like that. My personal favorite moments is Ko-Ko convincing his dog to go into the haunted house, and then later when Ko-Ko is making time with a female ghost (who is a hottie in his imagination). There really isn't anything here that isn't goofy, nonsensical fun, and I am sure you'll enjoy this spooky little film from beginning to end.

(The version embedded in this post is the 1950 re-release where it was retitled "Ko-Ko's Haunted Hat". It's the best version of this great short film that we could find on YouTube.)

We're tempting fate...

 ... on this Friday the 13th. Stand clear!